Inclusion and Diversity

Mission:

CURENT wants to recruit, retain and develop a diverse, high-performing workforce that draws from all segments of society and values fairness, diversity and inclusion to promote the progress of science and engineering

Vision:

CURENT is a model for research centers by fostering the culture of inclusion to deliver on our mission.

Core Values:

EQUALITY: All principles apply equally to all persons in the Center regardless of background, identity or title.

RESPECT: All persons are equally entitled to respect, appreciation and a sense of being valued.

SAFETY: All persons are entitled to share their feelings, opinions, desires, concerns, struggles and achievements. Shared or not, these do not diminish a person’s value.

GROWTH: All persons within the Center are fostered and encouraged to continually grow and improve. All persons are entitled to equal access to opportunity.

ACCOUNTABILITY: All persons are responsible for promoting and embodying our core values.

Guiding Principles:

CURENT leadership develops and continuously refines workplace processes to involve everyone.

CURENT leadership prioritizes open, transparent and frequent communication among everyone.

CURENT promotes an understanding and appreciation of everyone, across varying backgrounds.

CURENT values and respects diverse voices across all personal and cultural dimensions. Stereotypes and biases of any kind do not have a place at CURENT.

CURENT creates an environment where employees feel valued and safe.

To act on CURENT's guiding principles, we consistently create opportunities for students, faculty, and staff at all four partner schools to receive professional and personal development on a variety of topics. We do this through seminars (broadcast to all schools via Zoom), workshops (both face-to-face and virtual), and social events at the annual site visit and at local campuses.

We also have a first-year mentorship program run by graduate students in our Student Leadership Council that matches first-year MS and PhD students with a senior graduate student. We are piloting a cross-campus program between UTK and RPI where first year PhD students in Power Systems are matched with a mentor both locally (at UTK) and then at RPI to encourage collaboration.

Seminars and Workshops

April 1, 2020
Dr. Ahou Skibba, University of Tennessee - Mental Health in Graduate School  View details.  View recorded seminar.

March 27, 2020
Dr. Betsy Chesnutt, University of Tennessee - Microaggressions: What are they and how should we respond? View details  View recorded seminar

March 6, 2020
Mr. Said Sidiqi, TVA - Diversity and Inclusion at TVA View details  Due to proprietary info, this seminar is not available for post viewing.  

January 31, 2020
Dr. Stephanie Bohon, University of Tennessee - The Challenges of Racial Integration in the Academic Workplace   View details    View recorded seminar

Social Events

List of social events to come